Neuth

Minaria RPG

The Forest Kingdom

Last update April 14, 2026

Neuth is a kingdom of contradictions. Although isolated from mainstream Minarian society by race and geography, Neuth is one of the most beautiful lands in the world, with progressive, ecologically sound industrial and agricultural practices, and a military second to none in its home environment. Neuth’s society, however, is often harsh and unforgiving. Outsiders are not only unwelcome. They are actively driven away. Hefty cultural baggage remains, despite three-quarters of a century of liberalization. “Elfland” humans have long called the forest kingdom, for it is a truism that only pureblood Elves are truly welcome to enjoy the paradise of “the Abiding Place of the Elves”.

Capital: Ider Bolis

Population: 375 000 (Neutharian Elves 81%, Ercii 10%, Humans 4%, Dwarves 2%, Others 4%)

Government: Monarchy

Following the fanaticism of rule by the commoner caste under Boewenn, and the discrediting of the old dynasty, Neuth’s current royal family is relatively new to the throne. Maenor, originally elected by the Elven people as a former war hero acceptable to the public, and his successor, Adillh, have succeeded admirably in ensuring Neuth’s stability and social peace.

The royal government of Neuth is very small, run by a few functionaries from the court in Ider Bolis. Most Elves live in isolated municipally independent parishes throughout the forest kingdom. A short and efficient law code (the Maenoric Code, implemented in 1317 AC) is administrated by competent and trustworthy Wardens. They regularly conduct judiciary activities in the remotest of locations between the larger centres, wherever their services may be needed.

Neuth maintains a noble class, even if the gap between levels is narrower than in human societies. Typically, urban centres are governed by a member of this aristocracy, but these days almost always in the role of representative of the royal court, to which all elves swear allegiance. A Warden is assigned to assist the local leader.

Smaller settlements in the vast forests of Neuth are organized by family units, with the eldest elf, male or female, leading as local patriarch or matriarch, and appealing to the closest Warden for assistance as needed. Often a younger heir to the elder will serve as local leader should military service be required.

Ruler:

High Prince Adillh (Neutharian Elf Fighter 6, Silver Sword 7) is the first Elven prince to succeed his father to the throne since the Etirun dynasty fell in 1297 AC. Adillh came to the throne in 1347 AC at the youthful, but mature, age of 66. He has continued the progressive policies of Maenor, ensuring an open more tolerant society, and encouraging the return of the Ercii to the Forest Kingdom. Despite military failure in a border war in 1358 AC, Adillh is popular with both the old families of Neuth and with the commoners. He remains an eligible bachelor with many years of life ahead, and is occasionally courted by political suitors brought to Neuth in the company of foreign diplomats. It seems unlikely, however, that Adillh would enter into even a political marriage with a non-elf, given cultural norms of the Neutharians.

Adillh normally maintains his residence in Ider Bolis, in a private villa near the Plaza of the Holy. His desire for a lack of public revelry sometimes earns him the nickname “the Recluse”, al\though in truth he is as active as any of his predecessors in public duties.

Military:

Given their privileged position within the Lloroi Empire, it is not surprising that the Elves modeled their military after the Lloroi Legions. This remains true today, nearly 1400 years later.

The elves of Neuth maintain a small but proficient land army, organized into Psiloi (sometimes still referred to as Legions), a unit of 5000 full-time soldiers comprised of five Linn subunits, each of 1000 soldiers.

The Neutharian elves are very skilled in forest warfare and the Psiloi are trained as light infantry, specializing as skirmishers. All members of the military, and most civilians, are competent in short bow use, as well as light sword work. The rapier is a favored weapon, but it is not uncommon for individual Linn subunits to train in coordinated tactics with a particular weapon of choice, such as spear, javelin, mace, or sling. Such a choice is usually at the behest of the local commander or an influential regional noble.

Due to the continuing political hangover from Boewenn’s War (1307-8 AC), and the more tolerant policies of the current generation of Neutharian leadership, the army is deliberately kept small so as to be nonprovocative to Neuth’s enemies. Currently, there are six Psiloi, one for each of the provinces, based in the regional capitals (Dobhrantarn and Glamdicin), two Psiloi stationed in Ider Bolis, and a marine Psiloi, which moves around extensively supporting the riverine fleets patrolling the rivers and Star Lake. This 30 000 strong force can be supplemented with triple that number in times of war through the recruitment of citizen-soldiers.

The three Elven riverine fleets are similarly arranged, with a birlinn flotilla based at Dobhrantarn, the royal flotilla (being the largest) comprised of birlinns, cnears and bateaux, at Ider Bolis, and a bateaux flotilla based at Glamdicin.

The mainstay of the elven riverine fleets are sturdy wooden birlinns made from local coniferous timber. These small galleys, which can be paddled by as few as eight, typically seat twelve, plus up to six passengers. A detachable mast can also be installed in the centre of the vessel to increase speed with a small square sail.

The Neutharian use these birlinns to transport goods up and down the Grimgold river, and their relatively light weight and low keel also permits easy passage through the marshy junction of the river systems north of Lake Melting Star.

The southern leg of the River Sullen sees larger longboat-type vessels known as cnears, with 18-20 crew and a dozen passengers. These cargo haulers are wider than the birlinns, but proportionately longer too, and can also more safely enter the ocean.

The less navigable Ebb River, which feeds into the Sullen and connects Willowik to the river system, also sees expansive use of bateaux. The Ercii of Willowik favour these boats made from curved frames of local oak faced with planks. The bateaux utilize more oars (typically 14 rowers and only two spaces for passengers amidship) but can also be adapted on the fly better than the Neutharian birlinns, since a portable mast can be added in the passenger slots and the rowers can be replaced with cargo as needed, down to minimum of six rowers. The bateaux are not, however, ocean-going.

Regional History

Much of the history of Neuth is told elsewhere, but it is important to note that the Elves of Minaria were amongst the earliest to achieve civilization, as early as the Age of Dragons. While they were never the dominant race or nation, and despite the last century and half of chaos, the Neutharian have traditionally been seen as a society and the nation-state to aspire to.

The pre-history of Neuth is shrouded in mystery. Even the ancient texts, both those still remaining in the country and those carted away to Lered in 1308 AC, shed little light on the Elven origins. It appears that they came to northwestern Minaria either at the end of the Age of the Belialion or during the beginning of the Age of Dragons and established their colony at Letho on the shores of the Great Sea (at that time extending much farther north and covering what is today the Wetlands, the forested lands south of Lake Melting Star, and the lake itself).

Given the relative isolation, and the predilection of the Dragons to not dally with the younger races, the Neutharian were largely isolated for centuries. Technically part of the Age of the Pre-humans, the Elves fostered their community amidst the northern woods, developing small nature-integrated cities, towns, and villages.

One of the most interesting legends around the founding of Neuth is that of their first interaction with the ancient dragons. It is said that when the first elf saw the Spires to the Eternal (and so named them), they were met by three great drakes: a gold, a red, and an air-dragon studded with many gemstones. Some say the latter may have been an ancestor of Hamahara, or even the legendary air dragon himself.

The dragons met the lesser race with courtesy, albeit somewhat condescendingly, as they are known to do. They warned the Neutharians not to pass west of the mountains, cautioning of a great and terrible danger, beyond mere good and evil, to all natural beings of Minaria that lurked in Cirdalriada to the west. While this danger had been contained, the dragons said, by their own efforts, none should seek to awaken it again. Being in awe of the superior race and being a society given to order, the elves upheld this warning, venturing no further west. The Spires of the Eternal became the western border of the realm of the elves.

The arrival of the Lloroi around 1020 BC was the first great influencer on Neuth. Initially resistant to the invaders, the Elves capitulated after their great talisman of protection, the Silver Sentinel, was stolen by a renegade clan. These elves, forever shunned thereafter, became the Hacidar Botani we know today.

The Lloroi occupation of Letho did not greatly alter Neuth however, since the sun elves were in orderly society with no aspirations of conquest of their own. Furthermore, the conquerors greatly resembled themselves, albeit seeing themselves as superior to the Neutharians, and so it was not much of a stretch for the Elves to shift gears, assimilate, and seek to emulate the Lloroi. They became a model province in the new Lloroi Empire, one which survived largely without rebellion until the very end of the age.

Interestingly, the elves passed on the ancient warning of the dragons to the Lloroi, who, to the Neutharians’ surprise, seemed to have some knowledge of the threat. At great expense, the Lloroi began construction on a great frontier wall, the West Wall, to guard against this mysterious menace.

The aftermath of the Cataclysm and the fall of the Lloroi is better documented.

(See the Minarian Legend, “Neuth”, by Glenn Rahman, 2022.).

Initially able to weather the storm, the Neutharians suffered a shock to the system when, in 565 AC, human barbarian tribes, themselves displaced by rising Ogre pressure in Cirdalriada beyond the remains of the Lloroi West Wall, smashed the unprepared Elven armies, killed or took hostage the royal family, and conquered the country through brute force.

Although the human occupation only lasted 130 years, not even as long as the lifespan of a Neutharian generation, it had a lasting influence on the country. Elven tolerance dwindled. The human-elf Ercii hafbreeds from that lost generation became symbols of malignant non-Elven influence and movements that persist to this day to “make Neuth Elven again” were popularized. The Huardar Imperative (see below) is only the most famous example of this xenophobic attitude.

Neuth thereafter was either a nation feeling under attack (leading to the Mivioran War of the 9th century AC), projecting its influence to forestall attack (the border wars of the 10th century AC), or just plain meddling (the 13th century intervention in the Ducal Wars of Immer), all of which would have been anathema to the ancient Neutharians.

This culminated in the disastrous Boewenn’s War of the early 14th century, where, after suffering defat in the previous century, xenophobic elements took advantage of the situation to militarize the nation and lead it into Neuth’s first true war of conquest. This short-lived military escapade ended in debacle, as all the other nations of northwest Minaria united against he Elves and crushed them, looting and pillaging “Elfland” and setting back progress for a generation.

Fortunately, after an initial period of instability, resulting in the lynching and deposition of the puppet king Gwawl, more moderate leadership in the form of Maenor and his son , Adillh, have brought Neuth back to its traditional roots of stability.

Society

Neuth can sometimes be viewed as a cautionary tale where a peaceful and tolerant society is marred by outside intervention, creating social ripples through time and leading to a radically different and much less emulated culture

Assimilated into the Lloroi Empire prior to the Cataclysm, Neuth was a cultural centerpiece of the Empire. The Neutharian held a high place amongst the servitor races of the Lloroi. Surprising for a people with such a dislike of outsider influence, this fact seems to have escaped later Elven academics. After the collapse of the Lloroi Empire, Neuth (called “Elfland” by the unsophisticated humans) was a rare bastion of civilization on a continent sinking into barbarism.

After 5 centuries of being Minaria’s shining beacon of knowledge and openness, Elves developed an unfortunate streak of stubbornness and grudges in the 6th and 7th century. For nearly 150 years, barbarian invaders ruled the forest kingdom of Neuth, and it has taken nearly 700 years to shake off the cultural inferiority complex the human conquest engendered. A racial arrogance emerged and, accentuated by their history of repeated military defeat, dominated Elven society until just this last century.

They congregate in larger centers for cultural activities (festivals, religious rites), but live and work in smaller villages. Privacy is desirable, so individual houses and whole villages are nestled in wooded glades. The public buildings and those private buildings with great status are in the open, exposed to the sun, with the highest status buildings being closest to the sun, on great raised hills, natural peaks, or in tree tops.

The Neutharian have an open society, but most elves continue to show a small level of prejudice against those not of their race (their somewhat cavalier attitude, for example, towards non-elf slaves). There is modest acceptance for the much-maligned Ercii in the more cosmopolitan parts of Elven society, but isolated pockets of stereotyping remain. “To Hate Like an Elf” is a common saying in the Coastal Heartlands today for the long lifespan of a Neutharian lends itself all too well to holding a century (or centuries)-long grudge.

Even where they extract nature’s bounty (fur trapping, farming, logging), elves practice sound ecological principles, ensuring they never exceed the resources of the land. The caste system, once rigid and inflexible, has been liberalized in the last century and social mobility is an exciting concept in vogue for many younger elves, even as their elders still cling to tradition.

As a northern nation, Neuth sustains lengthy winters, typically from mid November until mid March, with most smaller rivers and some parts of Star Lake freezing over. An Elven winter marks a sharp contrast with the society of summer. It is said that the Neutharians become softer as snow blankets the trees, and more hospitable when everyone must congregate indoors for warmth. It is not unheard of for light magics to be employed by the wealthy to provide heat and light in entrance vestibules of their forest homes, making visiting arrivals more comfortable. Some urban centres hold winter solstice festivals, although this is more prevalent where there is an outside (human or Ercii) influence.

Neuth remains a highly militarized state in some respects. Given the long life span of the elves, about a third of the population is still trained in arms and could be recruited as citizen-soldiers in the event of war.

Religions:

Miodmuiri

The preeminent deity of the Elves, Miodmuiri is venerated in all parts of Neuth, with a large temple in the capital and smaller shrines in every home and public building. Her temples and shrines always feature running water, sometimes channeled into elaborate water features, and there is often a boating motif.

Oenglamh

The elves tend to place Miodmuiri first in their reverence, but never forget that their patron deity was the offspring of the greater god. Sometimes referred to as “He who brought the Voice (teachings) of the Sun”, Oenglamh was rebranded during the Lloroi period by the imperial name, Tacquamenau. After the Cataclysm, however, his veneration fell off as it did elsewhere in Minaria, despite having a pre-imperial status in elven culture. These days, Oenglamh’s temple in Ider Bolis, which was constructed pre-Lloroi conquest and thus has the least Lloroi influence in its architecture, is kept up, as befits a national god, but his shrines elsewhere are few and not so well maintained.

Earth Mother

The deity has a strong following amidst the trees of Neuth, but mostly in the form of household shrines. There is a larger public shrine at Glamdicin.

Mnugu

The Lord of Beasts is not well liked by the Neutharians, but his worship cannot be ignored amongst the humanoids who make up a minority of the population. Mnugu’s connections to the nearby ogres, who stray occasionally into the Great Forest, to the barbarians of the north, and to the goblins, kobolds, and others of their ilk who frequent the wilds, gives the deity a considerable presence in the land.

Goligo Favre

The faerie spirits are given considerable latitude by the elves, with minor offerings being common in the household or the multitude of forest glades. Beseeching for small blessings is a frequent reason for the acknowledgement of the faeries’ presence.

Major Geographical Features

Neuth’s nickname, “the Forest Kingdom”, is well earned. Over 200 000 square kilometers of woods, broken only by occasional hills, rocky outcroppings, swamps, and streams, cover the kingdom. Elven population centers are few and far between. If the Elves choose, it would be possible for a stranger to go for dozens of kilometers without seeing a settlement. The land is dominated by vast trackless coniferous forests, and crisscrossed by a few cold and swift rivers, with the majority of agricultural settlement along the shores of Star Lake, a deep and clear freshwater body.

It is sometimes called Lake Melting Star by non Elves because the southern arms of the lake freeze over from late December until late February. When looked at from above (say, by dragon-back or wyvern-back), early spring would make the lake look like it was melting.

The Neutharian Elves have hundreds, if not thousands, of small hamlets nestled amidst the crushing weight of trees, but few of these homesteads have names or significance. Travelers are warned however that unseen eyes could very easily watch any untoward actions they might contemplate in the forest kingdom!

Neuth north:

Alltidaer Province

The northwest third of the kingdom contains Neuth’s cultural heartland, the Haven, its political centre, Ider Bolis, and steady traffic to and from the dwarf mines of Aws Noir.

The Spires to the Eternal mountain range, a tall, largely unexplored range with snowbound peaks between 12 000 and 20 000 ft above sea level, stretches north into the Wild Reaches, and separates the western parish from the centre of the country. The name of the mountains comes from a Mivioran translation of the elven “Skeir Feridyn”. The Spires and Aws Noir are often cut off from the rest of Neuth in the dead of winter, as the Grimgold River pass cutting through the mountains tends to be snowed in from early January to late February.

To the south, Star Lake marks the other boundary of the province. Quercetum Forest, a dark expanse of coniferous trees covers the central reaches of the kingdom.

Alltidaer Province also is home to Neuth’s greatest pre-Cataclysm archeological site, Letho. The entire river basin where the Odharflow, Amhan River, Grimgold River and the River Rapid all meet is a expansive cold marsh, full of stagnant silty water, dark stinging fens, midges, and more unpleasant things, colloquially known as “the Glong”. Fortunately, the mires have a few underground hot springs, which prevents them from freezing over most winters.

Fur trapping and agriculture on the northern shore of Star Lake and the upper reaches of the Grimgold River are the largest economic engines of the province. The Grimgold, in particular, is home to the Elven birlinn river fleet, which is stationed at Dobhrantarn and is active patrolling the river from April to October.

Quercetum Forest and the Spires to the Eternal

Riaegh Province

The northeastern third of the kingdom is farthest from the centers of commerce, least developed, and is home to the least hospitable climate. Riaegh consists of all the lands east of the Grimgold and Rapid Rivers as far as the Conodras borderlands of Immer. The Draen Forest, a thick wood full of twisted scrub, covers the eastern reaches of Neuth. The Crios River flows south, joining the River Rapid in the cold northern borderlands, but the region is also known for its pristine wilderness, including the Ceileir Valley, a junction of two large creeks and the River Rapid. The valley is a sanctuary for many migrating birds.

Ceileir Valley

Winter is long here. The Crios and the smaller rivers of the Ceileir Valley freeze over in mid November and stay jammed with ice until early April. Even the River Rapid is known to occasionally freeze during harsh winters, and spring flooding from ice jams is common around Lake Feagha.

Human barbarians can often be found prowling in the northern and eastern reaches of Neuth, for their great holy site, the Standing Stones, lies on the northern border. The eastern border also plays host regularly to explorers, miners, and trappers from neighboring Immer.

Ercii are more prominent in the eastern parishes, having had long interaction with the Immerite human settlers. Small copper mines in the Ruidlead Hills provide the Elves with a source of coinage for foreign trade.

Finally, there is the mysterious ancient battleground, known as the Field of the Unknown Army. Bones of many humanoids protrude from the soil here. The field is also littered with pieces of large ancient statues made of stone, bone, and petrified wood. A small rocky escarpment overlooking the field is scarred by what some travelers have described as scorch marks from dragon fire and boulders are marked with runes that may be Belialion. There are no records for who fought here, why, or when, but the site is often sought for necromantic magic.

Neuth south:

Theasakro Province

The southern third of Neuth is a sprawling district, stretching from Citheroe in the west, through the massive, ancient, and dark Great Forest with its labyrinthine and ill-defined paths, south as far as the rugged terrain of the Breaking and the junction of the Ebb River and the River Sullen. Thasakro also features the shunned ruins of the ancient Elven capital of Pherdiad, on the southwest tip of Star Lake. The Iargail Valley, fed by a short watercourse of the same name, is home to a variety of endangered species found in few places elsewhere in Minaria. The Minarian snow tiger can occasionally be spotted here, particularly after the River Iargail freezes over in December. The land south of Star Lake was raised by the Cataclysm, creating a rolling landscape, now nearly completely covered by trees, intermingled with lowland mires.

To the west, the ancient ruins of the Lloroi West Wall mark the border between the kingdom and the unclaimed lands of Cirdalriada, where dwell ogres and other monsters. Fortunately the woodland skills of the Elves keep individual monsters from penetrating far into the forest kingdom. There are often bandit problems in the southern parishes between the ruins of Pherdiad and the freewheeling Ercii town of Willowik, particularly from human ruffians in the fringes of northern Mivior. Year-round fur trapping and lumbering from March to November make up the bulk of economic activity in the southern province, as well as light trade brought up the Ebb River and into the River Sullen via paddle and bateau.

The northern end of the Sullen, which feeds into Star Lake (also known as Lake Melting Star) is wider and the lake’s size also permits more use of sail during the non-winter months than on the lower reaches.

Important Sites:

Ider Bolis (City, approx. 7000)

The capital of the forest kingdom, Ider Bolis (“Eternal Victory”) is one of Minaria’s most impressive cities, by virtue of its design, site, and recently restored splendour. There is an undercurrent of implied arrogance, however, in its architecture, with forced perspectives that subtly make the viewer feel smaller than his surroundings.

The beauty of Elven architectural design in this urban centre, carefully constructed in synch with nature, is oddly contrasted, however, by its broken (and still unrepaired) walls and empty abandoned suburbs.

The city, deliberately designed to house no more than 10 000 citizens, sits on the side of Star Lake at the end of a sheltered bay, the highest structures clustered on a rise overlooking the water. The Plaza of the Holy, the largest public square, contains at its centre the Glorious Hall of High Princes, a stupendously tall marble edifice built over a thousand years ago by Seolan, the first High Prince of Neuth, and former home to the royal harem, now disbanded by a prudent (prudish?) Maenor and Adillh. There is also a shrine to Oenglamh (Taquamenau) at the north end of the plaza, and a towering temple to the Lady of the Sea at the south end.

Entry into the Plaza is twofold: There are three small arches at each of the N, E, and W points of the compass, which are open constantly admitting a steady stream of traffic to the political heart of Neuth. A fourth arch larger than the others, is avoided by all. The Triumphant Arch of Elir, once the most holy entrance in the plaza (facing south towards the sea), now is identified by the Boewenn the Bard’s suicide by hanging, and all the fanatical excesses of his reign (1297-1308 AC).

There are many impressive Elven noble villas in Ider Bolis, most part of the thickly treed urban landscape, yet visible to passers-by. Broad vistas and a network of canals, with magically shaped stone banks and druid-enhanced wooden bridges that seem to grow right out of living trees, run through the city. Smaller private homes are in privately screened wooded glades.

The public structures emphasize Elven pride, but they are artfully integrated with the natural surroundings.

In discouraging contrast to the magnificence of the central core of Ider Bolis, the outskirts show elements of wear and even decay. The ancient city walls are run down and have never been repaired since they were breached in 1308 AC. Many of the outlying canals are weed-choked and stagnant. The satellite public squares, designed to complement the Plaza of the Holy, have loose and missing flagstones. The Royal Library, once a architectural marvel of magically-enhanced stone decoration and grand arches modeled after the larger ancient edifice of Letho, has not been repaired in many places, and its collection has been largely looted.

Ider Bolis is also known for its textiles, which are produced by a score of cottage-industry seamstresses, and its alchemy. Many of Minaria’s healing cordials and other medicinal compounds were developed here in ancient times, utilizing the resources of the Great Library. Alas, this homegrown industry has fallen on hard times recently, with the disappearance of the archival collection.

Citheroe (Large Village, approx. 700)

Neuth’s fur trapping industry is based in Citheroe, in part because it makes an excellent jumping off point for trapping expeditions in the Great Forest, the Quercetum Forest, and the Cirdalriada borderlands, but also because the village is the ideal base to monitor Neuth’s most exotic natural preserve, the Iargail Valley. A dedicated group of druids and rangers ensures that poachers of any race do not disturb the ecological balance in the valley. Vasal (Elf, Courtier 5 ,Druid 4), a haughty steward of nature, has taken charge of the community since it was badly damaged in an ogre massacre in 1358 AC.

The Iargail Valley

Dobhrantarn (Village, approx. 500)

Dobhrantarn is a fur trapping community on the north shore of a long lake of the same name. The Grimgold River flows into a long valley nestled between a range of low hills. This settlement is rough by Elven standards, with a number of ground-level dwellings, largely due to a lack of suitably tall trees in the area. There is also a Dwarven minority population, catering to travelers coming to and from Aws Noir. A retired trapper, Prois (Elf, Minstrel 5, Otterhunter 4), rules.

Glamdicin (Small Town, approx. 1850)

The centre of Neuth’s lumber export trade runs through Glamdicin. The River Ebb slows and merges with the Sullen at this small eddy-filled lake. Glamdicin is the forest kingdom’s third largest centre, and is home to significant minority populations of Ercii and humans, serving as log drivers and lumberjacks. Glamdicin shows traces of Maragonese influence in its architecture, with painted frescos on some of its older stone buildings, a cultural leftover from centuries ago when Maragonese exiles trained Elven arms. Most of the humans living in Glamdicin today, however, are recent immigrants, as all non-Elves were driven in exile during Boewenn’s reign, including the descendants of the Maragonese.

The lake is usually cordoned off by woven net booms, as great logjams tend to clog the river junctions if not monitored regularly. In the winter, typically from December until March, the lower Sullen freezes just west of Glamdicin, and sledges are used to convey goods to Glykys Bay and beyond.

Glamdicin is also well known for its winter solstice festival, where Elven and human cultures combine for a spectacle of merriment, with sledge races and consumption of a hot drink made from fermented sap.

Traba (Elf, Divine 7, Cleric of Earth Mother 1), a gruff but honest fellow of lowborn origins, rules the community on behalf of Adillh. The very devout Traba, who maintains a shrine to the goddess, once organized lumbering expeditions into the Great Forest and is an expert woodsman.

Glykys Bay (Village, approx. 450)

A small village has sprung up upon the southeastern shore of this pristine forested bay, making a convenient stopover for goods being shipped from the Elven capital across the lake. Fish caught in Star Lake are exported from Glykys Bay via the River Sullen to interior towns and even as far as Mivior.

Named for the remarkable greenish-blue of the offshore waters, Glykys Bay is often frozen over from later November until early March, which consequently slows trade during these months. The elves have cleverly devised a removable sledge track along the banks of the lower Sullen and the shore of the bay which permits goods to be offloaded when the river freezes and shipped to a point where the shoreline is again ice-free.

Glykys has recently seen the arrival of a number of Ercii migrants from Willowik, and as such is one of the most integrated Elven communities in the kingdom. Caomh (Elf, Commoner 6), an easy-going former merchant and go-between for the Ercii, humans, and Elves, has been acclaimed as leader of this parish.

Gowan (Large Village, approx. 850)

Gowan is the Neutharian Elves’ main trading centre with neighboring Immer. Situated on the eastern edge of the Draen Forest, Gowan is well placed to meet traders, without having too many foreigners cross through Elven territory. Gowan’s architecture, while still treetop oriented, has adapted a few human conventions like ground-level warehouses, stone roads, and, in a throwback to the Vidara barbarian culture, large centralized fire pits for community celebrations. The town also has a repuatation for being an export centre for quality metal work, as this cottage industry sees Elven smiths bringing their goods to Gown annually for sale to visiting merchants (mostly human or Ercii). Gowan is also famous for its annual Pursuit of the Stag, a lively annual hunt that encourages participants from all races and from all corners of the continent. To the dismay of the locals, last year’s winner was a Lloroi by the name of Efferus (Rover 8) from the Iargail Valley.

Adillh appointed his oldest friend and military commander, Marshall Prois (Elf, Knight of Oenglamh 12), to rule. He maintains a sizable garrison of the Elven army at Gowan. Prois’ wife is Hjafion (Ercii, Divine 6, Cleric of Oenglamh 9), whose grandmother was an Ercii. She is derisively (not to mention unfairly and incorrectly) referred to as “the Half-Elven” by her detractors.

Hjafion

Hjafion was linked romantically in her youth to Adillh. Alas for the two, it was deemed politically and socially unacceptable for Adillh to have a half-elven wife, and they were separated. By virtue of her position as highest-ranking priestess of the royal faith, however, Hjafion is titular High Princess, despite the fact she has no real power. There are many rumours suggesting an uneasy romantic triangle between the monarch, the princess, and her husband.

The Haven (Large Town, approx. 3800)

Towering elven spires of classic architecture, mixed with more recent stocky human-built mage towers, surrounded by pleasant gardens in a professionally designed urban plan mark the Haven as Neuth’s intellectual heartland. This remote community, rarely seen by non-Elf eyes, represents the most positive and negative extremes of Elven society.

The Haven was started during the reign of Elir I (887-949 AC) as a bastion of sober religious reflection and secular academia for the Elven aristocracy. It was perfectly designed and, before the coming of the Dwarves to Aws Noir c.1100 AC, was conveniently isolated from outside influences. The Haven became renowned for its engineering school (open only to Neutharian Elves) and its spiritual and intellectual education to the children of the nobility.

As Elven society stagnated in the 12th and 13th century, however, the Haven’s original purpose was twisted to breed a contempt and hatred for all things non-Elven, culminating in the pogroms of Boewenn’s reign. The xenophobic Bard himself schooled at the Haven in the mid 13th century.

Since 1312 however, Maenor and Adillh have endeavored to bring the university town back to its less reactionary roots. They have been hindered however by the appointment of the former general, Droncain (Elf Fighter 6, Silver Sword 8) as Chancellor of the town. Droncain, sent into “internal exile” after Boewenn’s War, is revered as a patriot by many Elves, particularly his students, and while Droncain has ever been a practical man with non-political views, his military service as Boewenn’s best general worries those who wish to stamp out bigotry in Elven society.

Another famous “internal exile” is Effini (Ercii ,Commoner 4), former royal concubine to the last High Prince of the corrupt line of Etirun, Drouer, whose fall brought Boewenn the Bard to power. Effini is a well known artist, specializing in cultural fusions between Neutharian, Human, and even Dwarven and Lloroi influences. Her work, which rarely leaves Nueth, is prized in art collections across Minaria.

In 1365, the High Prince began to provide additional funds to the Haven school to create a department of mystical arts, which was timely because many wizards of the Witches’ Kitchen had recently been forced into exile (see Northeastern Minaria gazetteer) and many of the most experienced arcane practitioners were seeking for a new place to establish a mage’s tower.

Today the Haven is visually stunning, personifying Elven cultural and architectural prowess, in combination with a rising status as a school of magic. Elves once again have access amongst the best education options on the continent, the engineering instruction being of particularly fine quality, but there is also a dark societal underbelly waiting to be exposed in idle conversation.

The gardens of the Haven, in bloom.

The Haven is covert home to the Huardar Imperative, a xenophobic Neutharian underground organization that plots in the shadows to restore the elven people to the pinnacle of races. Certain members of Droncain’s court are highly placed members of the Imperative.

Tenements of the Huardar Imperative:

Restore the elven race to its proper place at the top of the hierarchy of Minaria. Permit no one not of pure Neutharian blood to supplant the chosen people of destiny.
Great rewards come to those to strive for a higher ideal. Act well on behalf of your people and you will be rewarded.
Allow no other authority to come between you and your duty to the Elven race. Authorities of the crown, state, religion are transitory and corrupt. Their words and laws cannot bind those of the Imperative answerable to a higher moral authority. Obey all commands from your superiors in the Imperative, even if it costs you your fortune, your family, and your life.

Lake Feagha (Village, approx. 350)

A medium sized lake is formed here at the junction of the River Rapid and a smaller tributary, the Katharos. The beech groves surrounding the lake are home to many Elves, and a carefully controlled lumber industry is the major export from this well-tended deciduous wood. The home of the leader of the community, Bochail (Elf, Rover 5, Silver Sword 3), is a large tree-top dwelling encompassing two beech tree copses, with natural walls carefully shaped to conform with the natural environment, and augmented with beautifully crafted wooden pillars, trim, and furniture. Unfortunately, Feagha is home to a very conservative faction of Elven society, and the antiquated and restrictive caste system is rigorously enforced here. Ercii are treated as second-class citizens at the best of times and non-Elves are almost beneath contempt, unless they have something of great value.

Letho (Small Village, approx. 250)

Despite the pedigree of its ancient namesake, the modern village of Letho is not a vibrant community, per se, having no other reason for existing other than as a base for continued archeological excavations in the Pre-Cataclysmic ruins nearby. A disorganized tent and shack village, modern Letho caters to Elven academics and treasure hunters investigating the swamps known as the “Mires of the Sinking Kind” by ignorant outlanders, and the broken remains of the capital of pre-Cataclysmic Neuth.

Once a thriving inland port before the Cataclysm, Letho sat at the bottom of a river valley at the north end of a great navigable delta. When the Cataclysmic raised the landscape, the delta became “the Glog”, a vast expanse of cold marshes at the confluence of the newly rerouted Odharflow, Amhan River, Grimgold River and River Rapid, and Letho became the lowest point of land at the centre of this mire. Silt and murk flowed swiftly into the great depression and, within weeks, drowned the great city. Only the highest spires of Letho protruded from the swamp. The weight of the muck collapsed buildings, the lowest halls and even most of the upper floors filled with ooze and debris. Over time the grime partially hardened, preventing the refugees from reentering their former home. The semi-hardened state of Letho to this day creates an archeological nightmare where supposedly sturdy tunnels dug into the site could collapse without warning, undercut by semi-soft foundations.

Excavations so far have focused on the temples of Oenglamh and Nada, both of whole had high spires that stayed above the surface of the Glog and acted as visual landmarks to validate old maps and determine the proximity of other structures, and on the Great Library, which was situated between the former two. Although much of the city is deemed to hold precious jewels, works of art, and coins, all items that were left behind in the hasty evacuation of the drowning capital, the real value of Letho lay in the deepest levels of the Great Library, where magical items from the Lloroi imperial age were researched and examined in ancient times. A vast circular building with a central great hall achieved through the use of pendentives to transfer the weight of the great dome to corner pillars, the Great Library was an architecture marvel of the ancient world. Library stacks were ensconced around the entire perimeter of the circular great hall, four stories in height, and accessed with spiral staircases. Delving at least three levels below ground, the library’s lower level s were said to be the restricted sections, with military artifacts in the deepest rooms. Side naves, each three stories high and several stories deep, extended its wings north and south, with smaller two-story cross-connecting hallways linking to the adjacent temples. The latter’s upper hallways contained religious artifacts, the ground level being left open for processionals, and the lower levels’ uses still unknown.

The Great Library is the centrepiece of current excavations, but its interior is now partially collapsed under the weight of soil and swamp and the rest damaged by brute tunneling. In the late 13th century, the Neutharian “People’s Prince”, Bowenn, despite being a Minstrel who should understand the value of cultural retention, did not heed the needs of preservation nor safety and ordered swift and expansive digging down to the lower levels to try and retrieve as many magical weapons as could be found. The loss of Neutharian life in such untrammeled excavation was high, not least of which because of a number of unexplained vanishings of miners at the lowest levels during the height of the excavations, the records of which have subsequently been lost. Bowenn’s roughshod is quarrying another reason to damn the Bard’s memory, for elven demographics could ill afford unnecessary deaths and the potential loss of cultural items, such as interior architectural features that were smashed in the name of digging, cannot be measured.

Amazingly, the great dome is still intact, its pillars still hoisting the vast weight inflicted upon them, even as side walls have been breached, letting slime and debris penetrate the interior of the circular hall. Much of the current archeological work involves removing the debris from the great rotunda, allowing access to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th levels, where every week the remains of bookcases, some still intact, are exposed. On the surface, a rough wooden shack has been constructed over top of the excavation depression about equidistant between the two temple spires. Crude tunnels previously rammed through the dome ceiling from this trench, and a platform of stairs and landings erected on the underside of the dome, allow access to the older library balconies along the upper perimeter of the great hall. This access remains the principal conduit into the dig site, a roughly 60 ft descent from the surface to the first accessible library balcony, and an additional 40 ft to the rotunda’s floor. Rudimentary tunnels excavate former stairways leading deeper into the bowels of the library, but most of this area has been sealed off since the end of Boewenn’s war. It remains structurally unstable and there are also rumours of something lurking the depths.

The tiny modern village, by contrast to the expansive archeological dig, sits on a hillock east of the swampy ruins, on the banks of the junction of the Odharflow, a murky slow moving tributary, and the Amhan, a bug-infested glorified stream, both joining to run into the Grimgold. The village is built around what remains of an ancient round tower. Today the site serves as a central point in the village, with a 50 ft diameter tent erected atop of installed wooden posts fixed to the stone foundation. The unofficial leader of this ramshackle settlement is Ciar (Ercii, Rascal 7), a streetwise former treasure-seeker who found more profit in fleecing the naïve Elven academics needing supplies.

Letho - AI Generated image

The West Wall (military outpost, approx. 150)

These ancient Lloroi ruins were once part of a vast stone fortification stretching roughly north to south for hundreds of miles. The wall was created in the immediate aftermath of the conquest of Neuth by the Lloroi after receiving an ancient warning, handed down by generations of Elves, to expand no further west beyond the Spires of the Eternal. It is said that the warning itself came to the Elves from the very earliest days of the founding of Neuth from the Dragons at the end of their era of domination of Minaria. Whatever its content, the warning prompted the Lloroi to expend large amounts of resources and station a heavy garrison on the western fringe of their mighty empire.

Ruins of Pherdiad

All Neutharian Elves shun the ruins of the post-Cataclysmic capital of Neuth. Once an impressive capital under the Seolian dynasty, Pherdiad, by virtue of its large urban centre, also became the seat of power for the human barbarian kingdom during the Sion Hac interregnum (565-689 AC). In its heyday, Perdiad housed the remains of the great cultural archives collected by Seolan in the aftermath of the Cataclysm. Pherdiad, located on a fine natural harbour at the western extremity of Star Lake, was razed to the ground because it offended the elven culture after the human conquerors were driven out. Thankfully, the great archives were preserved by the Neutharian after they leveled the settlement, moving the artifacts to the new royal library in Ider Bolis.

The large extensive ruins are a multitude of grassy overgrown stone foundations, the remains of the harbour piers and breakwater, and encroaching swamps from the north. No Neutharian would willingly stay in Pherdiad, but this does not stop foolish non-elves from exploring in the subterranean passages of the ruined city in search of lost treasure.